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Herb Seasoned 2-Hour French Bread

A quick and easy herb seasoned French bread recipe for begginer (and experienced) bread makers.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 2 Loaves

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Cups Warm Water (I like to turn the sink to "hot" and just use that)
  • 2 Tbsp Sugar
  • 2 1/4 Tsp Instant Yeast
  • 3 Tbsp Room Temp Salted Butter
  • 5 1/2 Cups Bread Flour (You may need a bit more if your mix is a little wet)
  • 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 Egg (For egg wash)
  • 2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning (I made my own to taste)

Instructions
 

  • If you haven't already, pull your butter out to soften. Put in ziploc and place in hot water if you're in a rush.
  • Mix your 2 cups of warm water, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 1/4 teaspoons of instant yeast in a small bowl. Let rest for 3-5 minutes until you see something foamy start forming on the top.
  • While it's resting, mix your bread flour, seasoning, and salt in another, large bowl. Pour in your water mixture once it's foamy and mix until stuff starts to stick together and get chunky in the bowl.
    Mixing dry ingredients to make herb-seasoned French Bread.
  • Hand knead or use a stand mixer with a kneading attachment and knead the dough for 10 minutes. I've gotten a perfectly smooth dough ball AND a bumpy one, they both taste the same to me (hence why I recommend just hitting the 10 mintues and calling it done). You can also pop this sucker in your bread machine for knead + rise!
    Dough ball after kneading for french bread recipe with herb seasonings.
  • Let dough rest covered with a clean towel or shirt for about an hour, or until the dough is about doubled in size.
  • Once dough is done resting, put on counter or cutting board and divide into two. Hand flatten into a rectangle that's about 5 x 10 inches. Roll up like a swiss roll, pinch the seam it makes closed, and tuck the ends under so it makes a rounded end (this gets easier with practice!!).
  • Let your new loaves rest and raise for about 30 minutes. Once done, brush with egg wash, cut lines diagonally even 2-3 inches, and bake in the oven at 415 F for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, cover with foil and bake for another 10 minutes!
  • Let rest for 5 ish minutes after it's out of the oven before cutting!